


Stories told and untold

by Dispatches (orphan_account)



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-10
Updated: 2010-05-10
Packaged: 2017-10-09 09:38:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Dispatches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For <a href="http://ofparsnip.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://ofparsnip.livejournal.com/"><b>ofparsnip</b></a>. Prompt was: "Martha, Gwen and Tosh being collectively awesome. Either something along the lines of girls' night in the Hub, or just getting to see them be kick-ass and competent."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stories told and untold

"So, you never actually said -- how is it you met Jack?"

Martha looked up from her glass of Merlot. Gwen had asked the question casually, but her eyes were a little too bright, her smile a little too wide; Tosh wasn't even pretending not to care, and was staring openly at her over the rims of her glasses.

"I'm not sure I can really tell you," she started to say. "I mean, I'm not sure you'd believe me -- "

"We'd believe you!" said Gwen. "Wouldn't we?" Her eyes grew, impossibly, wider as she turned to Tosh for support. Tosh smiled and nodded, not looking away from Martha. "We've seen all sorts of crazy things," she said. "You were there for some of them. You can tell us."

Martha put her glass down. "I don't even know if I have the words for it. It was a year of my life, and -- I remember it, but it didn't happen. I went through it, but there's no trace of it in the world, anywhere but my own mind. And his, I suppose," she added.

"I thought you were only together for a few days?" said Gwen.

"Well, yeah. This happened afterwards, but it's all tied up. See, we -- I was travelling with this bloke, this... doctor -- "

Gwen and Tosh exchanged a significant glance. Martha raised her eyebrows. "Has Jack told you about him?"

"Yes," said Gwen, at the same time that Tosh said "No."

Martha smiled. "Like that, is it? Yeah... the Doctor was the same. Getting him to talk about his past was like pulling teeth." She frowned. "From a hen."

"We've all got secrets, I suppose," said Tosh.

"Aye," said Gwen. "Skeletons in the closet."

_Skeletons?_ thought Martha. _Try graveyards. How many bodies are there in Torchwood's vaults?_

She was just about to change the subject when Gwen's head tilted in that familiar way, a second behind Tosh's; they both touched their earpieces and spoke softly and rapidly.

"Jack? ...Where are you?"

"Slow down, Owen, I can't... no, no, we're at the Hub..."

"..._slime_? Did you say _slime_?"

"...oh for God's sake, Owen, I told you not to use it near water!"

Martha grinned.

"...near what? Jack, what's that noise?"

"...yes, yes, we'll be along in a minute, just -- "

Martha sipped her wine.

"Yes, she's here... Well, I'll ask her, she's supposed to be off duty..."

" -- I'm _pretty_ sure that won't affect you now that you're -- well, no, not completely sure, but it's not as if this has happened before -- "

Martha put her jacket back on.

"...in fact, we're all supposed to be off, we were having a glass of wine and a chat when you called..."

" -- oh, Martha will know, I suppose, if you ask her politely she might even tell you -- "

Martha checked her watch.

"...no, no, we'll be there... Jack, I said we'll be there!"

" -- yes... yes, all right... yes. Owen, if you don't stop talking I won't get there in time... Thanks!"

At almost exactly the same moment, Gwen and Tosh switched off their comms and turned to Martha. "Don't tell me," she said, holding up a hand. "They need us to pull their irons out of the fire. So to speak."

They grinned apologetically at her. "Sorry about this!"

"We barely got a moment to talk!"

"Doesn't matter," said Martha. "We can talk while we work. I prefer it that way anyway. Shall we go?"

*

Extracting Jack and Owen from the scrape they'd gotten into required stealth, concentration, delicate fingerwork, and a pressure hose. By the time they'd finished, both the boys were soaked to the skin, and there were some lingering green stains on Owen's shirtfront.

"I smell like a fucking sewer," said Owen as they approached the Hub. "What the fuck _is_ that stuff?"

"Dunno," said Tosh, peering at the sample vial, "but we'll find out soon enough."

"_You'll_ find out," said Owen. "I'm off home for a bath. I smell bad enough already without letting this stuff soak in."

"I'm glad you were the one to say it," said Jack as Owen headed off towards his car. "Ladies, you were marvellous. I'm going to go follow Owen's example, and believe me, that's the last time you will _ever_ me say that."

"I heard that!"

"I meant you to!" Jack smiled at Martha and bowed slightly. "A pleasure, as always. I'd hug you goodbye, but I don't think -- "

"Oh, please don't," said Martha hastily. "You just -- get yourself cleaned up, and I'll see you next time I'm in Cardiff."

Jack saluted, and left the three of them standing in the shadow of the fountain.

"You never got to tell us," said Gwen. "You're going to have to go now. You'll miss your train."

"I can give you the greatest hits version," said Martha. "If you like."

Tosh and Gwen exchanged a look. "That would be great," said Tosh.

Martha smiled. "There were three of us at the end of the universe. Jack was very charming, the Doctor was very clever, and I was... well, I don't like to boast, but I was pretty good too. And there was a man who called himself the Master. He went back in time, to now, as a matter of fact, and took over the world, and took Jack and the Doctor and my family prisoner. It was horrible. For a year I walked the world, telling people everywhere about the things I'd seen and done, about the Master's prisoners. Especially about the Doctor. And that did it, telling the story. We all, all of us, the whole human race between us, we saved the world with the story. You did too, only... you don't remember it."

Gwen laughed nervously. "I think I _would_ remember something like that."

"It didn't happen. I mean, it happened, but it... _un_happened." She shook her head. "It's time travel, it's best not to think about it. The point is, you saved the world, and so did I. And you don't remember, but I do. I remember it. I remember _you_. You were brilliant."

She smiled, and gave them a little wave. "See you next time!" she said, and turned on her heel and walked away.

Gwen looked at Tosh. Tosh looked at Gwen. "Well!" said Tosh, "looks like we're one behind on our saving-the-world drinking binges. Shall we..."

"Ooh, yes," said Gwen. "We never finished that wine, did we?"

[end]


End file.
